UPDATE: Father Found Not Guilty of Making Threats at Child's School
Save Email Print
Bookmark and Share
Updated: 12:12 PM Feb 18, 2011
UPDATE: Father Found Not Guilty of Making Threats at Child's School
A father accused of making threats over the phone to his child's school, has been found not guilty.
Posted: 12:12 PM Feb 18, 2011
Reporter: Jeremy Edwards, Brooks Jarosz,
Email Address: jeremy.edwards@wsaz.com, brooks.jarosz@wsaz.com
width:320 and height: 240 and picwidth: 213 and pciheight: 159
(WSAZ Photo / John Green)
Font Size:

UPDATE 2/18/11
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A father accused of making threats over the phone to his child's school, has been found not guilty.

Andre Coleman was arrested last February after school officials at Anne Bailey Elementary said he called and talked about shooting school employees.

He was charged with disruption of the school process.

Coleman was in court Thursday, where he told the judge, that he said, he was going to sue the school, not shoot.

The judge agreed that their was not enough evidence and found him not guilty of the charges.



UPDATE 2/25/10
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The fiance of the man arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot school employees has filed a lawsuit against the Kanawha County School Board and Anne Bailey Elementary School.

Shana Abdalla filed the lawsuit Thursday Morning.

Abdalla told WSAZ.com the school has never given her family an explanation on why her six year old son was put on the wrong school bus.

Abdalla also said it is clear that the school doesn't have safety precautions in place to make sure kids end up in the right place.

Principal Ed Rider told WSAZ.com that it is rare for a child to be accidentally put on the wrong bus, but people do make mistakes.

Abdalla said for her, that excuse just doesn't cut it.



UPDATE from 10pm Newscast
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The incident at Anne Bailey Elementary has other parents speaking out.

Andre Coleman was arrested after police say he threatened to shoot school personnel and then showed up at the school. Coleman was angry because he said his 6-year-old child was put on the wrong bus Tuesday.

Other parents say the same thing has happened to their children.

Darnell Wise says last year he was waiting on his son, but he never got off the bus and was dropped off at the wrong location.

"I was scared," he says. "My kid did not get off the bus. We were there to pick him up and he was not on there. His brother and sister were, but he wasn't. They dropped my kid off all the way at Miracle Acres and actually had a stranger come pick him up and bring him back to the school."

Principal Ed Rider says while mistakes can be made, safety is the school's number one priority, and the 400 students make it home safe day in and day out.

He says there are safety procedures in place to make sure kids are dropped off at the right place. Teachers walk kids to the buses. Safety cards also are used to ensure kids get on the right bus and let the drivers know they're being dropped off to the right person.

"I understand that parents are concerned, but they need to understand that we take what we do very seriously," Rider says. "Safety is an utmost concern. We are going to do everything in our power to make sure that they're safe."

Rider says he is investigating to find out what happened Tuesday. He says if something did go wrong, he'll make sure the problem is fixed.



UPDATE from 6pm Newscast
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- While suspect Andre Lamar Coleman's fiance said he never threatened anyone at Anne Bailey Elementary School, Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies perceived the situation differently.

School officials said they received threatening phone calls from an irate dad because his 6-year-old son was put on the wrong school bus.

"The only thing that he said was that if something happened to his son, that they would have got sued," said Shana Abdalla, who is Coleman's fiance.

Deputies arrested Coleman for disrupting the school process and putting Anne Bailey Elementary school in St. Albans on lockdown.

"I think it was a good move," school principal Ed Rider said. "In retrospect, I would do it again because I think it's the right thing. You err on the side of caution, it's that simple."

Abdalla says as parents, she and Coleman wanted answers.

"Both of us do have severe emotional problems, and we do raise our voice when we get upset," she said.

Abdalla says they never threatened anyone.

"Since they pulled this, my son will not be back in that school for anything," she said.

According to court records, Coleman was on supervised release for federal drug charges. His arrest on Wednesday violates his release, so a federal warrant has now been issued.

Coleman was charged with a misdemeanor and, if convicted, he could face 30 days in jail.



ORIGINAL STORY
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies spent Wednesday morning at a local elementary school after a threatening phone call was made to the school.

According to a news release, deputies responded to the school after Andre Lamar Coleman, 33, of Charleston, called Anne Bailey Elementary School in St. Albans irate over his child being placed on the wrong bus Tuesday evening. His child is a kindergarten student at the school.

Deputies say during the phone call, "Coleman allegedly remarked, about shooting school personnel."

While deputies were at the school, Coleman arrived and was quickly confronted and arrested for Disruption of the School Process.

Principal Ed Rider tells WSAZ.com the school activated its lockdown procedures as a precaution.

Rider says a deputy will stay at the school Wednesday to provide extra security.

Coleman's fiance was at his arraignment in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Shana Abdalla tells WSAZ.com Coleman never made violent threats, he just wanted to find out why the school put her child on the wrong bus. However, she says that Coleman threatened to sue the school after he didn't get the answers he wanted from the school's secretary.

"We didn't disrupt the school," Abdalla said. "We didn't even try to go into the school, so for them to call the Sheriff's Department on us, that is harassment. I feel like it was racial profiling and defamation of character."

She said Coleman felt like the school was giving him "the run around."

"It is your job as a teacher to watch these kids," Abdalla said. "He is not a fifth grader, he's a kindergartner, a 6-year-old."

Abdalla also says they felt like the school lied to them about not knowing her child was on the wrong bus.

"Instead of putting him on the third base bus, they put him on the bus to go home and we live on a hill so the bus lets him off at the bottom of the hill," Abdalla said. "If my neighbor hadn't been there, there's no telling what would have happened to my son."

Principal Rider says he would release more information Wednesday afternoon.

Coleman was charged with a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.

The magistrate set Coleman's bond at $2,500 cash. According to court documents, if Coleman is released on bond he will be prohibited from the school's property and from calling or writing the school.

According to court records, Coleman has been convicted of federal drug charges. He served six months in prison and was currently on supervised released.

According to records, a federal warrant has been issued for Coleman for violating that supervised release.


Latest Comments

Posted by: does it matter on Feb 18, 2011 at 10:51 PM

I have children that attend Anne Bailey also. This school never likes to correct any child for their bad behaviors. The school sweeps everything under the rug & pretends as if they are the best school in Kanawha County. My daughter has repeatedly informed her bus driver of another child being a bully to other kids. The driver does nothing. We are seriously considering moving out of the school district. I know of other parents that have transferred their kids out of Anne Bailey also.
Posted by: Joyce on Feb 18, 2011 at 09:08 PM

to the person who said parents should provide your own transportation for your children to and from school.that would be a very bad ideal their are many 1 car home still yet.and that would be impossible for many. and talking about hardships on families they are struggling enough now.the govermentis interfering enough in families lives already.
Posted by: peter on Feb 18, 2011 at 07:00 PM

People do make mistakes but in this day and age there has to be zero tolerance for these kind of mistakes. One kidnapped child is too much. Just ask the people whose son and daughter was never seen again because of a mistake. Dolts are born every minute.
$250,000,000
Live Feed Now on the Always On Channel

Local Events

Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Click here to send us your pictures and video pix@wsaz.com
CNN.com News Headlines
WSAZ.com Sponsor Sections & Links
SOMC-Very good things are happening here SOMC
Very good things are happening here. Click here to learn more
Click here for closing and delays
Click here for school closings and delays
West Virginia Lottery nightly @ 6:59pm on WSAZ click here for numbers and drawings
Watch the Lottery Live Monday - Saturday @ 6:59pm on WSAZ NewsChannel 3. Need to check your numbers? Click here.
Ohio Lottery
Watch the Ohio Lottery Drawings weeknights @ 7:29pm and Cash Explosion Saturday @ 7:30pm on WSAZ NewsChannel 3.
WSAZ Children's Charitable Foundation
Click here to donate and help WSAZ help children at risk in our region. Thank you.
Making Moms LIfe Easier - with Diane Dimoff
Click here to see how our partners are making Moms and women's lives easier.